It’s easy to get disconnected from nature. Everywhere around us we have the ability to shield ourselves from it- in our homes, in our work, in our grocery stores. We counteract its healing effects by connecting ourselves to technology, staying up way later than natural bedtimes and consistently experiencing close to a 20 degree temperature difference between indoors and outdoors, except of course on those perfectly temperate days.
I am someone who enjoys being outside and will do what she can to take walks, swim and watch the sunsets. Every little bit counts and I need every bit of natural refuge I can get.
As someone who runs her own business and wears multiple hats at the business, I find myself on the computer at all hours of the night, especially to work at times when Gideon is sleeping. Work is getting especially more intensive as the studio has added more offerings and expanded its reach to more students. Some days I work from 6 am to 10 pm and try to balance rest wherever I can in between.
As fall flows in I find its wisdom speaking to me asking firstly for more rest and secondly for more nourishing foods. Last night I went to bed at 8:00pm and didn’t get out of bed till 6:30 am. Then I took two more naps today and it’s not even 4pm yet.
I can fight against nature, but nature always wins. It’s like the weeds growing through the cracks in the concrete. Concrete seems so strong and solid, but then comes the greenery peeking its head through every bit possible.
Fall is a time for self-reflection. It’s a time to allow the old to gently die away and plant the seeds of what we want to see next.
What’s dying for me? Lots of things have died away in the wake of becoming a new mother. My darling baby is almost 21 weeks old now. She actually lights up the parts of me that I want to be lit… and dims down the things I want to die. It’s quite amazing.
Whenever I contemplate the old dying away, I picture the old things as physical sacrifices on the altar of who I am becoming. I see a stone and I see myself prayerfully offering those things upon the stone.
One of the things Gideon has helped me to sacrifice is time wasting. It may not be optional because there literally isn’t time to waste with her around. I’m either working, taking care of myself, or spending time with my lovely baby, husband or dear ones.
I like, no I love having less time to waste.
Historically time wasting really is just that- a waste of time. It begets unconscious behaviors like emotional eating.
But now baby says, “Mom, I am going to help you nip that in the butt.” And I say “Thank you, darling. That’s exactly what I needed.”
She also inspires me to work harder than I ever have before. She makes me want to be a better person. I want to be someone that she can look up to and learn from.
The irony is that it means that I spend more time working with her sitting in my lap looking at the laptop with me. I am just grateful that she is right there in my arms instead of anywhere far away.
It just so happens that the things she inspires in me are also the things that the fall season asks me to slow down on, to take a deep breath and to remember to rejuvenate my being.
Fall is asking me to evolve these patterns.. The wisdom of nature says to me-
Don’t waste time, but remember that slowing down isn’t a waste of time.
Work with vigor toward the things you want but remember that the child sitting in your lap is the whole reason you want to work passionately.
I have a deep respect for rituals that honor the changing seasons of our lives. Maybe it is because I lacked this respect growing up. And then I gradually came to see the beauty and growth that is possible in honoring these cycles.
I also observed that people who honor rituals tend to be less compulsive and I desired to emulate this pattern of slowing down within myself. I believe that the honoring of rituals inevitably results in a conscious decision to slow down and recognize the next necessary transition instead of fighting it and pushing against time.
So here are my reflections for the coming fall…
I want to continue to put the necessary effort into my work to see it thrive.
I also want to slow down and make sure I take ample care of myself, my husband and my child.
I want to shift my diet to consuming fattier and more nurturing foods.
I want to move away from swimming- which is cooling for summer and into more warming exercises like jogging and weight lifting.
I want to reignite my meditation practice. And when I meditate, I want to be connected in heart and mind to inner stillness, self-awareness and inherent contentment.
I am inviting you to join us for our fall equinox event this Friday September 22nd at 6:30 pm.
Come to this event to nurture your inner being and make your commitments for the fall.
We will have yoga with Keitha and Reiki and sound healing with Heather.
I will be making nourishing Ayurvedic drinks for the body and soul.
You can set your intention and celebrate the longer nights and cooler days with a community of loving and like-minded people.